According to the Sankei Japanese newspaper, Sega may be teaming with telephone network giant AT&T. The two may be working together to develop an online service for Sega's Dreamcast system.

　　Last month Sega of Europe announced that it would be teaming with British Telecommunications (BT) to take responsibility for the European Dreamcast network infrastructure, including dial-up and Internet access, local hosting, and billing services. Sega also mentioned that it plans to work with other telecommunications giants in other markets. The Sankei newspaper quoted Sega in regard to a future teaming of its company and AT&T on a Dreamcast network. "In response to a reporter's question, (Irimajiri) didn't rule out the possibility of such an alliance, and that may be behind this report,'' said Munehiro Umemura.

　　At its New Challenge Conference '99 on Tuesday, Sega announced that it would be spending 20 billion yen (US$165 million) to build an online gaming network called Dreamcast Heat. This will be a worldwide network that will allow gamers in multiple continents to play games with and against each other. Further details in regard to the Dreamcast Heat network, including this possibility of a Sega partnership with AT&T, will be announced shortly.